Black Magic
by RavenclawReader00
Summary: As Lennox embarks on her final year at Hogwarts, she relies on her closest friends (most of whom happen to be Marauders) to get her through a year of heartbreak, betrayl, and perhaps the coming of war. As Hogwarts' notorious heartbreaker, Sirius Black plays an increasingly important role in Lennox's life- much to her dismay.Will this be the year she finally gets or quits Black?
1. After all, He was Sirius Black

"Lily?" I stumbled around, throwing things in and out of my trunk. No response. "Lily!" She stomped into the room, her face cross. "What is it you've lost now?"

"Er..." I started apologetically. "I don't suppose you've seen my broom, have you?" She smiled coolly and glanced at my broom- which was barely visible from the underside of my bed. "You know, I really hate it when you do that."

She rolled her eyes. "No you don't. You'd be completely and utterly lost without me. Besides, You've really lost it, you know that? Looking for a broom in a trunk? Completely bonkers. You may very well be the most daft Ravenclaw I know." She grinned, folding her arms over her chest.

I scowled. "And you may very well be A LOT more like Potter than you're willing to admit." She rolled her eyes and put her hands up in mock surrender. "You know I'm only joking. You're one of the brightest witches I know. Aside from myself, of course..." I tossed a pillow at her as we broke out in laughter. I stretched out on the floor around me, pushing aside my potions book to make room for my best friend on the floor. "I don't see why you won't give him a chance, Lily."

She rolled her eyes, settling on the floor next to me and pulling her knees to her chest. "Enough about Potter, yeah? Let me enjoy these few remaining days of peace." She let out a sigh, sprawling out next to me. "You're one to talk, you know."

I propped myself up on my elbows and narrowed my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She laughed from her place on the floor. "Well those Marauder's do tend to leave a lasting impression."

I tossed my potions book at her stomach before helping her to her feet. "Now help me find my robes, will you?"

"Bottom drawer on the left." She smirked. "Like I don't know, Lennox. I'm your best friend."

"Know what?" I demanded, becoming very interested in some stitching that had come undone in my robes.

She softened her look, taking on a more sympathetic tone. "That our very own Lennox Cordle is not immune to the charms of Sirius Black." She looked exasperated. "It's happened to the best of us, Len."

"You're right, Lily."

"I am?" She looked shocked.

"You're right- we really should enjoy these last few days of peace."

"Ugh!" She threw her arms in the air, making her way toward the door. "When are you going to learn to cope with your emotions?"

I smirked. "When you wise up already and snog James Potter like you know you want to."

"I want to do no such thing!"

"Of course not." I smiled. "Now, Can you help me find my-" She levitated my scarf in front of me with that striking 'I told you so' look that only Lily Evans could muster. "Give me that." I snatched the scarf from the air and hid a smile.

"And you've remembered to pack snacks for the ride there?" My mother straightened my collar and pushed a strand of sandy colored hair behind my ear. Her face was wrought with worry like it always is this time.

"Yes, mum. I've got everything. Promise." I gave her a reassuring smile and brought her hands down from my face, holding them in mine. "Besides. I've got Lily to hound me." She laughed and we both looked toward the red-head. She was saying her goodbyes as well. My mother sighed, turning back to face me. "I know that. I do... You really do have great friends, Lennox. I'm so proud of the choices you've made, do you know that? I'm so proud." I laughed trying to pull from her a bit. "I know, mum."

"You know what would make us all the more happy?"

"What's that, mum?"

She looked around, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Well, your father and I have noticed that you haven't dated much, not since that last boy-" I groaned. "Now, Lennox. Just hear me out. We didn't like your last boyfriend all that much- that Slytherin boy. What was his name?" I groaned a little louder this time. "Oh, well that doesn't really matter now, does it? Your father and I both think that it would suit you to find someone. How about that lovely boy you're always around? The one with-"

"Sirius Black, at your service, Mrs. Cordle." The familiar boy sauntered toward my mother, he took her outstretched hand. Instead of shaking it, he bent down to kiss it one grand gesture.

I faked gagging noises, my eyes pleading with Lily to come to my rescue.

My mother giggled. "Oh, Sirius! How has your summer been, dear?"

"Much better now that I've seen your daughter." He shot me a wink and then continued to wow my mother with the adventures he and James had been on just weeks earlier. He had an arm slung over both of us now. I was trying hard not to punch him in the side. My mother would be mortified by my 'lack of lady-like grace.' "We even invited Lennox a few times." he chimed in, pulling me into his side.

"You did not!" I said pointedly.

"Don't be silly, Len! Of course we did! I take it you didn't receive my owls?"

My heart skipped a beat. Had he owled me over the summer? How on earth had I missed something like that.

"Can't say we did, Len." He whispered in my hair, lips brushing my ear. "But you wished we had, now didn't you?" I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

"You...you... toe-rag!" I shouted, breaking myself from his arm. Toe-rag? That was the best I could come up with? Merlin, was I lame.

"Lennox!" My mother looked mortified. "You'll have to excuse her, Sirius."

He let out a barking laugh. "No need, Mrs. Cordle. Lennox and I have a... complicated relationship." I stood there like an idiot, my mouth wide open while he jogged to catch up with James, who was currently trying to show Lily something he had cupped in his hands. She had her back to him.

I let out a long sigh before turning to face my mother one last time. She arched an eyebrow at me and smiled. "A complicated relat-" I cut her off with a peck on the cheek. "Bye, mum! I'll owl as soon as I can!" I lugged my things over to where Lily was. She was impatiently waving me toward the train.

"All the good compartments will be taken if we don't get a move on, Lennox!" I rolled my eyes and shoved past her. "Goodbye, Mrs. Cordle! I'll take good care of her, Promise!" She waved to my mother before slinging one of my bags over her shoulder.

"But where are your things?" I protested.

We pushed past some first years and I smiled at some Ravenclaws I knew. "They're already on the train! If you hadn't spent so much time flirting with Sirius, you'd know that."

"Flirting!" I scoffed, "Are you kidding? I hardly made it out of there before my mother proposed to him on my behalf." I rolled my eyes and readjusted my bag on my shoulder. I was prepared for Lily to retort when she stopped in front of a compartment filled with 4th years.

"I could've sworn I put my things in this one..." she trailed off looking confused. James Potter poked that legendary mop of hair out of a compartment a little ways down.

"Lily! I've taken the liberty of moving your things into our compartment!" Sirius poked his own head out of the compartment. He seemed to be putting all of his weight on James. "And bring that quiet Ravenclaw who follows you around, will you?" He winked.

I rolled my eyes. "You know my name, Black."

James winced a little under his best friend's weight. "Is that you, Lennox?"

"I've missed you too, James!" I laughed. Lily hoisted one of my bags back onto her shoulder. "I haven't" she muttered. I grabbed her wrist before letting her head to the compartment. "Wait... uh... You wouldn't..." I stumbled over myself a bit. "You wouldn't tell him, would you?" Lily looked confused before a letting a smile creep over her features. "Of course not."

"Well, good."

"Good."

"We can head to the compartment now." I groaned. She laughed and slung an arm around me, squeezing my middle reassuringly.

"Ouch! Get off me, Prongs!"

"You're one to talk, Pads! Whose foot is that?" James growled from the floor.

Lily and I came up on the compartment to see a mess of tangled limbs. It seems Peter had joined in for the heck of it. Remus hardly looked up from his paper, but you could see an amused smile on his face. Lily shoved past the boys, putting my things on the overhead rack next to her own. I followed suit and plopped down next to Remus.

"Whatchya reading, Moony?" I beamed.

"Well, thanks to these two..." He gestured to James and Sirius (who were currently struggling to bring themselves to their feet) "absolutely nothing."

"Oh come on now, mate. Think how boring life would be without us." Sirius flashed him a grin.

James poked him in the side with his wand. "He's right, you know. Without us you'd be left with _Peter_." He pulled a face and rubbed Pettigrew on the head lovingly.

"What's wrong with that!" The smaller boy demanded. I sometimes felt bad for Peter. He wasn't exactly... well, Sirius. Or James for that matter. Those two were borderline adored by the entire female population. Especially Sirius. It was quite annoying, actually. Especially when the time came for a quick game of chess with James or a fly with Sirius. If I had a nickel for every time some Hufflepuff shot me a dirty look...

"Lennox?" Remus asked, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

I shook myself out of thought. "Hmm?" I asked.

He merely smiled. "Thinking of ways to overthrow the Ministry again, are we?" He smiled.

"Oh please, Remus." I rolled my eyes. "I haven't done that since_ tuesday_." I stressed the last word with a smile.

"Of course not." he chuckled. "Well I asked how your summer had been."

"Oh, it was wonderful! I didn't receive a single owl from you, however. I mean, I'd expect that from those two" I nodded "but from my dearest friend Remus?" I sighed and playfully slugged him in the shoulder.

James stood up suddenly. "If you two are done fliiiirting..." he winked, "I've got a proposition for you all." he bowed dramatically. Both Remus and I blushed. I stole a quick glance at Sirius only to find him completely unfazed, feet propped up, reading a quidditch magazine. Balls.

Lily crossed her arms and looked up expectantly at James. He caught her eyes for a moment and seemed a bit flustered. "I uhm..."

Sirius let out a bored yawn and leaned his head back on his hands. "Would you two just save us all the anticipation and snog already?"

"Thank you." I muttered.

"What was that, Cordle?" Sirius arched an eyebrow my way.

"Nothing." I settled in a little closer to Remus and addressed James, "Now, what was this proposition, Potter?"

"Right! My proposition! Well, Ladies...gentleman...Peter. I've taken it upon myself to do a little brainstorming."

"You? Brainstorming?" Peter snickered.

James shot him a look. "Yes, Peter. Brainstorming. I was thinking a lot about... well, you know... what's been going on." He waved his hand around the compartment. "And I want to do something about it."

Sirius scratched his head. "Now, I may be devilishly good looking, mate... but that sure doesn't mean I'm daft. And I still have no idea what you're talking about."

I looked at my hands folded in my lap. "I don't know what we could possibly do, James. I mean, we're hardly of age." He frowned at me.

"Leave it to the Ravenclaw to actually understand what's going on." Sirius said. He was growing increasingly fidgety.

Lily frowned, pushing a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. She handed Sirius the copy of The Prophet Remus had been reading earlier. In all bold, the headline read "DEATH TOLL RISES, SUSPECT AT LARGE"

"...'suspect'..." Sirius scowled. "Who do those gits at the prophet think they're kidding. We all know very well who-"

"Sirius," Remus piped in. "Perhaps it wise to lower your voice." His eyes darted around the compartment.

"I don't care who hears me." Sirius growled to no one in particular. My heart broke a little watching him. I wondered about Regulus- about his whole family. I wanted to ask what had really happened two summers ago. The same time he moved in with the Potters.

"Lennox!" James waved a wand in front of my face. I'd done it again? What's gotten in to me? I really had to get out of my head sooner or later.

"Yes? I'm listening! What was it?" I looked up at him guiltily.

"I want to write a paper." He repeated, seriously. He snatched The Prophet from his mate. "Like this."

Lily smiled at him sadly. "Don't get me wrong, James. I want to help- more than anything, really. You know that... but what exactly is a paper going to do? I mean, we all keep up with The Prophet..."

"Well, I know that. It's just... I think this our chance, you know? If it's coming from us, people are going to listen aren't they? Especially impressionable females." He winked at Sirius before turning solemn again. "If we're able to let them know what's really going on... and even how they can defend themselves against it- well, it's something, isn't it? It's more than we're doing now." His eyes pleaded with Lily before he continued. "Just think. Moony is constantly reading up on what's happening. And Pads!" He turned to face Sirius. "Well, you're the only one of us whose got real experience with dark magic. Not to mention your marks last year in Defense against the Dark Arts were outstanding." He turned to face me, almost begging now. "And Lennox- you're bloody brilliant when it comes to anything involving strategy. Of course, we'll need people to read this." He said, turning to Peter. "That's where you come in, mate. We'll need to keep it light. Humor and whatnot." Lastly, He turned to face Lily. I'd never seen James Potter look so much like a puppy dog in my entire life. "And Lily. Well, that's just simple. You're the most brilliant witch I've ever met."

We all stayed silent for a moment, taking in everything James had just said. Sirius was the first to speak. "I think you're a bloody genius, mate. I'm in."

Remus looked at each of us before addressing James directly. "You can always count on me, Prongs."

"What will you do, James?" Peter squeaked.

James let out a laugh. "Well, I haven't thought that far ahead, mate. Perhaps I'll write a column on quidditch or something." He smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Lily stood up, looking James dead in the eye. "He's being humble. We wouldn't have even come up with the idea if it weren't for him." James gave her the biggest, brightest grin I'd ever seen. We all looked back and forth from Lily to James in anticipation. No one dared move. Hell, no one blinked. Lily suddenly realized who she was standing in front of and quickly flipped her hair in his face. She sat back down and tried to hide the blush creeping its way onto her cheeks by smoothing out the wrinkles in her robes.

James spun around to face me, still beaming. "That just leaves you, Lennox." I looked quickly toward Sirius to see him smirking at me. Merlin. That boy was always a step ahead of me. I quickly looked up at James. "Well, I _am_ 'bloody brilliant when it comes to anything involving strategy'." He rolled his eyes and plopped down on the seat next to me. "You never could take a compliment, could you?" He sighed.

"Of course I'm in, Potter." I looked around the compartment. Mum was definitely right about one thing. I really did have great friends. After a long train ride listening to Sirius and James (and even an occasional Remus) compare the backsides of Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw females, Lily and I were more than relieved when the train came to a screeching hault at the place we'd all called home for what would be our 7th year.

"Puh-Lease, James. Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance. I give you exhibit A." Sirius gestured to me.

"Hey!" I began angrily. "Even if I did give any thought to what you two said about my bum, it wouldn't make any bit of difference. You couldn't have it if you tried, Sirius Black." I scowled at him and made a point to keep my rear-end out of view when exiting the trolley.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

"Not so fast, Cordle." Sirius leaned against the frame of the compartment. "Is that a challenge?"

My heart sunk a little. What did he mean? "A Challenge? Of course not. You are Sirius Black, after all." I mocked his own words and stuck my tongue out before walking (a little faster than normal) down the train.

"Ah, Alice!" I yelped, thankful to see anyone other than Black. "How are you!"

"Lennox, I'm wonderful! It's so nice to see you. I have to tell you everything that's happened this summer! You won't believe who-" She was cut off by Frank Longbottom. Frank swooped in beside Alice and grabbed a bag from her shoulder. "Lennox, how are you?"

I laughed knowingly. "It's about time, you two! Alice, we'll have to catch up after the festivities tonight, yeah?" As happy as I was to see Alice, I was looking for any excuse to get away from couples at the moment. My mothers words were still ringing in my ears.

"Of course." She smiled. "Oh, Wait! Lennox, will you be at the party tonight?"

"Party?" I asked.

"Yes! Rumor has it they're throwing a massive one in the Gryffindor common room tonight."

I looked back down the train. James was fighting Lily for one of her bags to carry and Sirius was long gone- probably off to flirt with some Hufflepuff with a great backside. Yuck. "Well, I spend more time there than I do in my own common room- So I suppose I will."

"We'll see you there!" She beamed. I waved to both Frank and Alice.


	2. Lost Boy

**A/N: Hey guys! I completely forgot to put an author's note on the last chapter, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm relatively new to writing fanfiction- I hope you'll stick it out with me and tell me what you think of the story so far! That way I'll know whether to keep writing. :) Thanks for reading!**

I heaved a sigh of relief upon entering the great hall later that night. As much as I loved my family, as completely "average" as they may be, I'd never felt more at home than I did when I was here, at Hogwarts. Being here made me feel far from average - and average is something I never aspired to be. Growing up in a family consisting entirely of muggles, my mother always saw it fit that I turned out to be the witch. I was weird, frankly. And had no desire to be anything anyone expected. I went out of my way to do the exact opposite, I suppose. I lived and breathed anything remotely rebellious, despite the fact that I was always a tiny bit terrified to act on it. Hell, I This may be the same reason I was so drawn to Sirius. For the love of Merlin, he was the defenition of a bad boy, now wasn't he? Balls. I'm doing it again, aren't I? Focus, Lennox.

"Lennox, Dear." Professor McGonagall interrupted my thoughts. "What is it you've done with your hair?"

I grinned at her. "Oh, well I charmed this strand blue! You know, house spirit and all. You like it?"

"Well, it is against dress code, you know..."

I smiled to myself, an idea coming to mind. "Detention worthy, Professor?"

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Hardly detention worthy dear. You seem almost eager. I was actually going to say I like it." She leaned in a bit closer with a smile. "Very spunky."

I must have looked horrified. I looked over to where The Marauders were sitting and they eyed me curiously. "Erm, thanks Professor." She gave me a wink before bustling off to tend to some lost looking first years.

Lily spotted me from her spot at the Gryffindor table and gestured for me to come over. I looked back to my own table and groaned before complying. Sometimes I really wondered how I was put into this house. "Sit down a moment, won't you?"

"What are you up to?" I asked, looking around at the lot of them.

James smiled, brandishing a quil and a piece of official looking parchment.

"What's this?

"A pact." He responded as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"For what!"

James shoved the parchment in my direction. I read aloud, "The following is a list of each founding member of WIP. These members are expected to uphold each responsibility designated to them by their fearless leader, James C. Potter..." I trailed off.

"Fearless leader?" Lily scoffed. "How'd that get in there?"

"Wait a minute," I shoved Peter a little closer to Remus to make room for myself. "What's WIP?"

"Work in Progess" James answered proudly.

"That's the name then? Of the paper?" I raised an eyebrow. "Or the title is a work in progress?"

James snatched the paper back defensively. "Look, if you don't want to be a founding member, then I'm sure we can work you in somewhere-"

"Don't be a baby, Potter." I rolled my eyes. "Hand it here, will you?" He smiled triumphantly. I signed my full name to the parchment right under Lily's.

Remus looked down at me from across Peter. "Lennox, what did Mcgonagall say to you over there? You looked pretty... disturbed." He chuckled.

"Oh, it was nothing. Apparently she thinks my hair looks 'spunky" I wrapped my blue strand of hair around my finger and let out a dramatic sigh. Just then, Sirius sat down across from me. "Spunky? What's spunky? What've I missed?"

Remus smiled at me. "Apparently Mcgonagall is taking fashion advice from Lennox now."

"Is that so?" Sirius snorted. "Lennox hardly has room giving anyone fashion advice."

James looked up from his parchment for a moment, his hair looking more disheveled than ever. "AN ADVICE COLUMN!" He continued furiously scribbling down notes. I caught Lily looking down at him affectionately.

I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore James' epiphany. "Well no one asked you, now did they, Black?"

"I've never let that stop me before now, have I?" he quipped.

"Mcgonagall was referring to her hair, you see. Don't get me wrong, Len. It is very spunky..." Remus chimed in.

"I like Lennox's hair." Sirius shrugged. "It suits her. It's unique." He shoveled the remainder of his mashed potatoes into his mouth. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him.

I tried my best to conceal a blush coming over my pale cheeks. "You think I'm unique?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, dear. That could very well mean that I think you're a complete and utter freak."

"Well if that isn't the most lovely thing I've heard you say..." I snarled, picking my bag up from its place on the floor. "If you don't mind, I do have places to be."

"What can I say, love." He shot me one of those wolfy grins that made first year girls fall off of the moving staircases. "We can't all be as charming and good-looking as Sirius Black. Lily shot me a sympathetic look.

"I give up, Sirius. You've been a worthy adversary. I however, have lost all motivation to participate in this lovely 'back-and-forth' thing we have going on here." I held my hands up in mock surrendur before extending one for him to shake. To be honest, he looked a little shocked. Not one to surprised, he let a seductive smirk grace his elegant face before he took my hand, brushing his lips over my knuckles. "Ah, but I could never give up on you, Lennox Cordle. After all, you've challenged me." As much as I tried to tell myself this was all a part in his sick little game, I couldn't stop my heart from fluttering a little when he said it.

I ducked straight to the ground upon entering the Gryffindor common room. Who in their right mind would let a bludger loose in here? I weaved in and out of the hollering in search of Lily. James must have noticed how lost I looked. He jogged over to where I was, slung an arm over my shoulder, and dragged me to the sitting area where most of our friends were. Still no Lily. Uh oh.

"James, have you seen Lily!?" I shouted to him over all of the noise.

He pushed his glasses up farther on his nose and shouted back. "I don't know a Billy, Len!"

I shoved him a little before my eyes fell on Sirius. My heart dropped. He really was stunning. He had mastered that whole 'fell out of bed' effortless-cool look sometime during 5th year. And everyone noticed... including his current company. He had his feet propped up on the table and was lazily waving his arm around telling a story to some giggling Gryffindors. "...and that's when I had to pull Prongs out of there of course." He grinned.

"Ha! You seem to forget who pulled who out of there that night, Padfoot." James rolled his eyes and crashed his own cup to his friend's.

"True partners in crime." I muttered, smiling to my shoes. Oh sweet merlin... my shoes. How on earth did I put on two different shoes?

"What was that, Cordle?" Sirius bounded up from his seat, putting me in a headlock.

"Nothing!" I snorted. "I surrender, alright!" I could almost feel the gigglers glaring.

"A surrender? From Lennox? What's gotten into you, Cordle?" He detangled a hand from my hair and cocked an eyebrow at me.

"I... well, Sirius... I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

He cocked an eyebrow even higher (if that was possible) and poked me in the stomach as if to force it out of me. "Spit it out, Cordle."

"Well you see, I was just wondering if..."

"Hmmm?"

"If you could move." I smirked. "You're on my laces."

He let out another barking laugh. "And here I thought you were finally going to own up to your feelings for me." he winked.

"How lovely, Black. You know, you have to have feelings in order to own up to them." I was thankful for the dimness of the common room.

"In all seriousness, Lennox..." I froze. Sirius brought his hands up to my face and drew me close to his own. He let a slow smile spread across his face. "Are you wearing two different shoes?"

I let out a shaky breath. "You're a real arse, you know that?"

"Only an arse if it bothers you, love." He smirked, making his way back to his many admirers.

I spent most of the night playing exploding snap with Frank, Alice, and Peter. That game ended quickly with Peter making a pass at me. Yuck. Lovely. The only two boys to show any interest in me at all were Peter and Sirius. And Merlin knows Sirius was never... well... serious.

I started to fake a yawn. "As fun as this has been, guys, I think I may head back to my own common room. It's getting pretty late. Besides, I can't imagine the workload Slughorn is going to lay on us tomorrow." I smiled and dismissed myself. Bollocks! Has no one caught that thing yet? I nearly avoided a bludger to the bum as I ducked out of the portrait hole and headed toward Ravenclaw tower. These halls really were eery at night. I couldn't help but walk a little faster than normal. I stopped suddenly... hearing a very familiar voice coming from farther down the corridor. It was talking in what seemed like very hushed, angry tones.

"Leave them out of it, Regulus." Sirius hissed. "I mean it."

I stood frozen to my spot. Even as Regulus Black stalked past me, I couldn't do anything but stand there with my mouth open. Since when did Sirius talk to his brother? And what on earth could they be talking about?

"Lennox?" Sirius looked at me now, his grey eyes much darker now. "What are you doing out here?"

"I... I was just on my way back to my room." I shrugged myself out of my daze. He frowned at me. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail now. He only did that when he was going for a fly. "Taking the nimbus out for a spin?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes." was all he responded. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright, Lennox."

"Yeah, alright... tomorrow then." I watched him turn on his heel to walk away. "Wait, Sirius!"

He looked angry. "Yes, Lennox?"

I cleared my throat a little. "You said you were going out for a fly, didn't you?"

"That's right."

"Oh... it's just that... you haven't got your broom."

He looked down as if surprised by this fact. He fidgeted with something in his pocket. "I've left it down at the pitch."

"Oh, alright then."

"Alright. Good night, Lennox." He turned to walk away for the second time.

"Wait, Sirius!"

He only turned this time.

I knitted my brows together and crossed my arms. I went to speak again, this time more confidently. "Can I come?"

His look softened a bit. "Come with me... to fly?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea." He started.

"And why not?" I demanded.

He let out a sigh and walked toward me a ways, closing the distance. "Because you're not stupid. And you know that I'm lying about where I'm going."

I looked down at my mis-matched shoes. "The question still stands." I said, barely above a whisper.

"Why do you want to come with me, anyway?" he narrowed his eyes. "If you want to snog, all you have to is ask, love."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll take that as a yes?"

He laughed. "To the snogging or coming with me?"

"The coming with you." I hissed.

The humor vanished from his face. "No. Not this time." He turned and started walking down the corridor.

"Oh, don't be so cryptic, Sirius Black!" I jogged after him. "I heard you talking with your brother."

He spun around to face me, looking very harsh. "Don't call him that." He started walking again, this time much faster. "James is my brother... Remus is my brother..."

"Sirius, please! Just talk to me, won't you?"

"We're talking right now, dear. And frankly, It's getting quite bothersome."

That one stung a little. I followed anyway, trailing behind slightly. Merlin. He had such long legs. "And what on earth is going to stop me from following you?" I demanded.

He shot me a look. "Well, for starters. Lily's upstairs bawling about something Prongs said."

"She what? What are you talking about? I was just up there!"

"And now you're down here." Sirius shrugged. His pace quickened a little.

"You're lying." I growled.

He eyed me carefully, a smug look on his face. "And if I am? You won't know until you check for yourself. And considering I won't be back anytime soon, I'd say you've got a choice to make, love."

I let out a sigh and stopped where I was. Sirius didn't bother looking back. Why didn't that surprise me? "Are you going to be alright?" I called to him.

"Fine, Lennox." He waved a lazy hand back at me without turning around. "Arse." I muttered, making my way back to the Gryffindor common room.

**A/N: I hope you'll tell me what you thought in a review! Thanks so much for reading :)**


	3. Mandrakes?

The following morning, there was no sign of Sirius anywhere. Which was odd considering the majority of 7th years had morning classes together. Turns out he wasn't lying. I spent my last first night at Hogwarts in the Gryffindor common room, Lily drooling slightly on my lap. We stayed up long past the party, talking about some foul thing James had said to Lily regarding Severus. We fell asleep in front of the fire. As rotten as I felt for not giving Lily all of my attention, I couldn't help but use last night as an excuse to watch for Sirius. I had hoped he'd come back in after we'd fallen asleep. Turns out I was wrong.

"James!" I looked around before socializing with 'the enemy.'

"Lennox! Merlin. How mad is she? I screwed up, I really did..." He rubbed the back of his head and looked like he'd barely gotten any sleep.

I sighed. "She'll be fine, Prongs. It may help to let her know you've been a git and all..."

"I know. Thanks, Len... I really do appreciate it." He eyed me curiously for a moment. "You know, you don't look too hot this morning."

"That may have something to do with comforting your girlfriend all night, Potter." I snarled.

He held his hands up and grinned. "Okay! Okay!" He shuffled his feet a bit. "She really cared all that much about what I thought?"

I squished his cheeks into my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "She has always cared, James. Just... go fix it, will you?"

He smiled down at me. "Absolutely. You're a real pal, you know that, Lennox?"

I sighed. "I've heard. Wait a minute, James!"

"Hmm?"

"What's going on with Sirius?"

He didn't look at me. "Oh, slept in."

"Slept in? Are you kidding me? Don't feed me that rubbish."

He shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes. You do, Potter. Are you covering something up for him?"

James looked around, making sure we were out of earshot from the other students filing into the room. "Look. I really appreciate the help with Lily. I do. You know that." I folded my arms across my chest. "If Sirius wants to tell you... he will." He continued. "You've just got to trust him alright? Leave it alone."

I was shocked. Leave it alone? "I saw him talking with his- with Regulus, James. I'm worried."

His eyes dropped to the floor. "Me too." He muttered. His eyes quickly shot up to my face. "Wait a minute, why are _you_ worried?" He grinned at me and waggled an eyebrow suggestively.

"Don't be a git, Potter." I slugged him in the arm and decided to drop the subject entirely. "Don't forget to beg Lily for forgiveness, yeah? I wouldn't mind sleeping in an actual bed tonight... and that Evans can hold a grudge."

"Tell me about it." He mumbled, taking his seat next to Black's empty one.

The afternoon bell went off to dismiss us for lunch. I jogged to catch up with Lily who made her annoyance with James apparent by shrugging past him after Transfiguration. "Lily! Wait up, will you?"

She quickened her pace and called back over her shoulder. "Shouldn't you be talking to Potter or something?"

"Lily..." I moaned, doing my best to keep up with her long strides. "We were talking about you."

She spun around to face me. "You were?"

"Of course we were. You honestly think I could sit through an entire conversation with James otherwise? It's all quidditch all the time with that boy." I attempted a joke. No response. Balls. "Lily. He's really sorry. He hardly slept last night."

She rolled her eyes. "His hair always looks like that, Len."

I smirked. "I know that. If you'd just take the time to talk to him..."

I was interrupted by the horrified expression on Lily's face. She was looking at something behind me. I spun around to see Remus Lupin giving us a sheepish grin. He was walking with Peter. Which wouldn't have been so out of the ordinary had it not been for the massive cut across Remus' face. "Remus!" Lily spoke, closing the distance. "What happened?"

He glanced at me and then went on in a rehearsed sort of way. "You know, trouble with some mandrakes."

Lily and I stared at him in disbelief. "Mandrakes..." She started. "A plant did this..." I cocked an eyebrow and stepped closer to him to trace the deep mark with my finger. "There's no way." I said to no one in particular. Remus looked down at me, holding my wrist lightly and making my breath catch a little.

"Pesky little bastards, they are." he spoke, keeping his eyes trained on mine.

Lily cleared her throat. I quickly stepped away. I awkwardly fidgeted a bit before speaking again. "Well, when you two are ready to tell us what _really_ happened, we'll be in the great hall." Lily nodded in agreement. "Glad you're alright then, Remus."

Lily shot them a gorgeous smile before grabbing me by the arm and making her way toward the heavenly smell coming from the great hall. "What on earth was that about!" She demanded.

I shrugged a bit stupidly. "I haven't the faintest idea. But there's no way it was mandrakes."

She narrowed her green eyes at me. "Really?"

"Lily! Lennox!" Marlene McKinnon beamed. I hadn't seen her since we'd gotten back, and frankly, I wasn't too upset about it either. Marlene wasn't exactly the kind of friend I pride myself on having. She was unreliable, dishonest... and perhaps most disturbingly, Sirius' on and off again snogging partner. She squeezed between the two of us and placed an arm over each of our shoulders. "It's so good to see you! I was almost worried something had happened over the summer when I hadn't received any owls." _Almost._

I forced the corners of my mouth up into a not-so-convincing smile. "Nope. Still in one piece, Marlene."

Lily looked at me from behind Marlene. "This discussion is not over." she mouthed, eyes narrowed.

Marlene began rambling on about her summer as we headed for the tables. I muttered something about going to eat with my house, leaving Lily with Marlene. She shot me a glare. Ouch. That was definitely one of her _Honeyduke's is on you for the next 3 Hogsmeade trips_ glares. I made my way toward the Ravenclaw table, finding a spot away from some giggling fifth years no doubt discussing the utter _gorgeousness_ of Sirius Black's hair. I knitted my brows together, leaning on my hand. There was no getting away from him. I reached for a plate of pumpkin pasties before I suddenly noticed that the giggling had stopped, and the group of fourth years were looking directly at me. I coughed up a bit of pumpkin juice before turning their way. "Er, Hi." I began.

They giggled a bit more. "You're Lennox, right? Lennox Cordle?" One of them with wavy, blonde hair spoke. I recognized her immediately. Alison Lockhart.

I smiled. "Yeah, you're Alison, right? Gilderoy's sister?"

She nodded, scooting a little closer to me on the bench. "We don't mean to bother you." She began in her sweet voice. "Well, we were just wondering if we could ask you a few questions about your friends?"

Realization began to sink in. "Of course." I laughed. "Let me guess? Sirius?" The group erupted into another fit of giggles.

Alison blushed and nodded. "And James!" a girl behind her spoke. "Remus too!" They all seemed very interested now.

I tried to swallow the lump forming in my throat and put on a smile. "What do you want to know?"

Alison turned around to her friends as if to give the go-ahead on all the questions that had no doubt been burning in them for some time. "Does James have a girlfriend?!" the one directly behind her piped.

I laughed. "Well...no." I began. "But between you and me..." I let my voice drop to a dramatic whisper now. "He's head over heels in love with Lily Evans." The girl's face immediately dropped. "Don't worry though!" I tried. "Sirius and Remus are completely tie-free." I laughed.

"Is that so?" A cocky voice from behind me came.

Just my luck. I rolled my eyes. "And ladies... I give you the man of the hour."

Sirius dramatically went to one knee, taking Alison's hand in his own and giving it a light kiss. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure. I'm Sirius Black." The girl giggled uncontrollably, not bothering to hide the cherry red blush that crept over her porcelain cheeks. "Alison Lockhart." She beamed.

He quickly bound to his feet, looking at the group of girls. "Now, I don't know what Lennox here has told you." He started, patting my head like a dog. Merlin. Why did he have to do that? "But I am completely infatuated with someone, actually."

The girls didn't bother to hide their collective disappointment. Used to his ridiculous tricks, I only waited for him to finish. "Is that so, Black?"

He grinned. Balls. He was gorgeous when he did that. "There's this girl, you see." He took a seat on the table, pushing my half devoured pumpkin pasties aside with his bum. His perfect bum. For the love of Godric. "She's a bit strange." He stroked his chin, pretending to ponder something. "Completely obsessed with things like muggle music and the takeover of the ministry. Quite annoying, actually." He added. I made no attempt at hiding my growing frustration. He just had to make a spectacle of me. It wasn't good enough to just make fun of me in the common room. It had to be here. In front of the entire school. In all likelihood, he was perfectly aware of my 3 year crush on him. Wasn't that bad enough? Wasn't that humiliating enough? The group of girls were laughing uncontrollably now. "And of course, there's the hair." I looked down at my hair, something I had always liked about myself until now. The blonde color seemed dull next to him, the waves flat, and the streak of blue... well, childish. He got much closer to them, speaking in a mock hushed tone, as if to top off the entire joke. "She's actually quite beautiful. And bloody brilliant too."

I winced, waiting for the last insult that never came. "What?" I looked up at him, my heart racing.

He ignored me, addressing the girls once more with a shrug of the shoulders. "But she'll never know it." He hopped down off the table and bowed to the the group of girls, now silent, before striding confidently off to where James was sitting at the Gryffindor table.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to tell me what you think of the story so far :)**


	4. The Black to my Potter

I pretended to flip through an issue of "Witch's Weekly" while lying on Dorcas' bed. Lily sat cross-legged on her own. She furrowed her brows together and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He said what?"

I dropped the magazine and rolled onto my back with a groan. "That I was beatiful. But I'd never know it."

"Right, I got that part."

"You're not helping, you know."

She sent me an apologetic smile and got up from her spot to lie next to me. "I know. I'm trying. I swear." She rolled onto her stomach, leaning her head on her hand. "It's just that... it's Sirius. He's done this before. He's done this to _you _before."

My heart sank and I tried to fight back hot tears that threatened to spill over. "I know."

"You could always try telling him."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Right. That would go over well."

Lily paused for a second. She leapt off of the bed and crossed her arms. "Hey, this isn't you." She demanded.

"What?"

"Len, he's a prick. You _know _he's a prick. And quite frankly, you're better than this pity party."

"Hey! I just..." I grumbled before being cut off by Lily's yanking of the covers from underneath me. "What are you doing!"

"You're getting up." She spat.

I buried my face in a pillow and mumbled some choice words. "Ouch!" I was on the floor and Lily was yanking me up. "It's near curfew! There's no point in getting up now!"

She gave me a pointed look before continuing. "If you tell _anyone_ about this, I swear... I'll jinx the hell out of you, Cordle."

I sat on the ground with my mouth open for a moment. "What is this? Lily Evans...Head Girl...breaking _curfew?" _

She rolled her eyes and finished bringing me to my feet. "Let's go before I have a change in heart."

"Who knew. She has a heart." I muttered with a smirk.

"Heard that."

It was long past curfew by now and the corridors were completely empty. "Lumos." I whispered. My wand cast an eery glow across the stone walls of the dungeons. "How far to the Kitchens?"

"Shhh!" Lily hushed me.

"There's no one down here! Why do I have to keep my voice down?"

She paused, turning to look back at me with a smile. "It's more fun."

I crossed my arms with a scoff. "You're more like Potter than you'll ever know."

She rolled her eyes and we continued down the corridor with bated breath. It really was creepy down here at night. I don't know how the Slytherin's did it. I was genuinely scared out of my wits. No doubt another reason I was in Ravenclaw and not Gryffindor.

"I think this is it!" Lily stopped at a portrait of a bowl of fruit and cleared her throat, staring at the wall for a moment.

I looked at her expectantly with a knowing smirk. "You don't know how to get in, do you?"

"Alohomora!" Nothing. She knitted her brows together in confusion. "I could've sworn that would work, Len... I just wanted to do something to cheer you up." She looked down at her hands.

"Try tickling the pear." I smiled.

"What did you just say?"

"Tickle the pear!"

She gave me a strangle look before hesitantly doing as I instructed. The fruit let out a giggle before the entire portrait opened up, leading into a bright, beautiful kitchen bustling with house elves. She gasped. "How did you know how to do that!"

I shrugged. "Remus told me."

She opened her mouth to speak before she was interrupted by an angry looking house elf. "Yes?"

Lily beamed, utterly thrilled to be meeting the house elves everyone talked about but never actually saw. Not to mention she was breaking all sorts of rules while doing it. "Nice to meet you! I'm Lily Evans and this is..." The house elf grunted.

"Not important." I laughed. "Could we get two butterbeers, please?"

The house elf shuffled off and we were left to ourselves. We made ourselves comfortable against the wall and took in the enormity of the place. "Why do you think they work so late?" I began, looking around in amazement.

Lily shrugged. "Well they haven't got time during the day, have they?"

Before I could get a word in edgewise, the house elf was back with our butterbeers before scampering off into the depths of the kitchen. "Efficient little buggars, aren't they?"

Lily took a sip of her butterbeer, foam covering her lip. She looked up at me with a smile. "So... is now a good time to talk about what happened with you and Remus this morning?"

Remus. I'd forgotten all about that. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if that was something to be forgotten about. I mean, was it anything? I shrugged. "I'm not quite sure what that was about. I love him dearly. I love them _all _dearly."

"So you don't have any..."

"Feelings for him? Don't get me wrong. I've thought about it..."

"And?" Lily started excitedly.

I laughed, taking a sip of my own butterbeer. "And nothing! I've thought about it. That's it."

She frowned. "But Remus is brilliant! He's kind...good-looking..."

"Not Sirius?" I smiled.

"Well, that too." She looked at me sympathetically.

"Is there any way we can..." I started, looking down into my near-empty glass.

"Consider it dropped." She smiled, helping me up from my place on the ground.

"You really are the best friend anyone could have, Lily Evans." She let out a laugh.

"What can I say? You're the Black to my Potter." She laughed, bounding out of the kitchen.

It took me a moment to close my mouth before running after her out into the dark corridor. "I can't believe you just said tha-" I stopped dead in my tracks, heart racing. Lily held a finger up to her lips and gestured for me to leave down the corridor the other way. Voices were drifting down the corridor just around the corner. There was no time to take refuge in the kitchen. She backed toward me quickly, grabbing my hand and leading me in the opposite direction. We didn't dare speak. The voices were growing much closer and seemed rushed. We locked eyes in a moment of panic before she yanked me behind a suit of armor. "Who is it?" I mouthed. She shook her head, eyes wide. There was hardly enough room for the two of us behind the knight. The parts of us that it didn't cover seemed to be concealed by the darkness - for now, anyway.

I did my best to steady my breathing, knowing it could mean the difference between us getting caught. Two shadows appeared on the wall in front of us, the bodies to whom they belonged having paused just before rounding the corner Lily and I were hidden behind. The first spoke to the second in a long, drawn out monotone. There was no denying who it belonged to. I looked to Lily. Her face was completely blank; unreadable.

"I don't believe you're taking the _severity _of the situation into hand." Snape hissed.

The second voice, which sounded unbearably familiar but not quite recognizable, spoke next. "I understand perfectly well, Severus. It's you that may not quite understand what you've gotten yourself into." I could almost feel a wicked smile creep onto his features.

"The Dark Lord, Regulus..." Snape spat "is not about to..." My heart skipped a beat. I sat frozen in fear and tried to make sense of anything I'd just heard.

Regulus cut him off with the wave of his cloak. "We will speak of it no more."

That's why the voice sounded so familiar. It was Sirius's.

Regulus moved swiftly passed our hiding place, making no sound as he went deeper and deeper into the dungeons. Severus was left standing in the corridor. We could only see his shadow now. Lily made a move to get up, perhaps go after him. I dug my nails into her arm, giving her a pleading look that could mean nothing other than "no." We sat in silence a moment more before Snape took off in the same direction as Regulus.

I let out a shaky breath. I closed my eyes a moment and then turned to face Lily. She was completely frozen, a look of horror etched on her features. A single tear slid down her cheek. "I knew he was involved in it. I knew he was. It's why I ended the friendship." The words caught in her throat. She was staring straight ahead. "The Dark Lord." She repeated blankly.

I was frozen. Hot tears threatened to spill for the second time that night. I closed my eyes before grabbing my hand and helping her stand. "I know. I know. We have to get out of here, alright? We'll go straight to Dumbledore in the morning." She nodded her head slowly, still staring at the blank wall ahead of her.

I had no idea where to go. I only knew to walk quickly in the opposite direction Regulus and Snape had gone. Lily shook herself out of her daze and took the lead. "The stairs are this way." She whispered. I only nodded. "We have to see James." I swallowed hard, unable to point out that she'd called him James rather than Potter. "I know." was all I said.

**A/N: I'd love to know what you guys think! or if you have any suggestions :) **


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